Rituals have been around for hundreds of thousands of years – but are they still useful today?
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Articles on Ancient humans
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Humanity carries traces of other populations in our DNA – and a new study shows how one of these ancestors has influenced the immune systems of modern Papuans.
The UN estimates the global population will pass 8 billion people on Nov. 15, 2022. From the Stone Age to today, here’s how things spiraled out of control.
Ancient DNA from Neanderthal fossils in southern Siberia reveals a small community with close family ties – including a father and his teenage daughter.
The mysterious Denisovans left DNA traces in populations across Southeast Asia and Australasia, but until now no physical signs of their presence outside Eurasia had been found.
A new study doubles the age of ancient DNA in sub-Saharan Africa, revealing how people moved, mingled and had children together over the last 50,000 years.
The new work presents the oldest dated evidence for hominins in Arabia, in the form of an ancient handaxe tool uncovered from the Nefud Desert.
The first ancient human DNA from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi — and the wider Wallacea islands group — sheds light on the early human history of the region.
The 140,000-year-old skull fossils are leading to more questions than answers. Also found was the oldest intact campfire ever found in the open air.
Our research has also uncovered major long-term changes in ancient animal populations at Denisova Cave, and has provided the first direct evidence of Homo sapiens having lived there.
Combining evidence from archaeology, geochronology and paleoenvironmental science, researchers identified how ancient humans by Lake Malawi were the first to substantially modify their environment.
Our biggest evolutionary advantages are an ability to walk on two legs and our big brains.
The research shows that 2 million years ago humans were not constrained technologically and already had the capacity to expand their geographic range.
These ancient surfaces, which often preserve the tracks in remarkable detail, are now amenable to inspection and interpretation.
Before 200,000 years ago, close to the origin of our species, people preferred the use of broad-leaved grasses to build their beds and resting areas using ash layers underneath.
Mason tirelessly sought to convince officials of the need to recognise and celebrate the African past, and the role that African people played in the making of modern South African society.
There is not much information on artefacts used by Stone Age humans to make sound and music – but the first comprehensive survey is a good start.
The updated methods are providing a clearer picture of how Earth and its inhabitants evolved over the past 60,000 years - and thus, providing new insight into its future.
The artefact comes from deposits dated to more than 60,000 years ago. It closely resembles thousands of bone arrowheads used by the indigenous San hunter-gatherers from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Our findings reveal the slowing down of brain development in our ape-like ancestors began more than three million years ago.
Top contributors
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Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), University of Wollongong
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Associate Professor of Archaeology, Griffith University
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PhD Candidate, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University
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Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
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Group leader of Max Planck 'Extreme Events' group., Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
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Associate professor, University of Johannesburg
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Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University
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Director, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University
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Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale University
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor, Southern Cross University
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Lecturer in Palaeontology, The University of Queensland
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Professor, University of Wollongong
